Euro-Train heading for Taiwan

Taiwan has chosen a consortium including GEC-Alsthom and Siemens as the ‘best applicant’ for the £7.3bn high speed rail contract to link the capital Tapei and the southern part of Kaohsiung along 345km of track. The Anglo-French consortium is now in the exclusive position of having three months in which to negotiate and finalise the […]

Taiwan has chosen a consortium including GEC-Alsthom and Siemens as the ‘best applicant’ for the £7.3bn high speed rail contract to link the capital Tapei and the southern part of Kaohsiung along 345km of track.

The Anglo-French consortium is now in the exclusive position of having three months in which to negotiate and finalise the details of its bid.

The eventual contract will be on a Build Operate Transfer basis with the consortium designing, financing and constructing the system and maintaining it for 35 years.

GEC-Alsthom’s slice of the work could be worth £2.5bn.

The consortium, which includes five Taiwanese firms, is offering a ‘Euro-Train’ combining the design of the French TGV and German ICE high speed trains. A rival bid from Japan was based on the Shinkansen bullet train.